All Together Now
by YouLittleRat
Summary: How long can the penguins last away from eachother?


"Rico stop it!"

"**No!**"

"Pfft! Rico!" Rico giggles. He continues blowing bubbles which in turn keep floating off and landing in Kowalski's face as he works.

"Calm down Kowalski, they're just bubbles,' interjects Private delicately.

"Oh put a sock in it Private."

"-gasp- Well I never!" Private turns and walks away with his beak in the air. Not watching where he's going, he bumps into Skipper. Poor Private spills Skipper's hot coffee all over him.

"HOT!" screams Skipper. He runs for a towel, knocking Rico over in the process and spilling his bubbles all over the floor.

"**Hey! My bubbles!**"

"Oh Skipper I'm so sorry."

"Private!" Skipper returns, drying himself off. "There are things that I will not condone on this team and a big one is SPILLING HOT COFFEE ALL OVER YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER!"

"You don't have to yell-"

"**Bubbles!**" Rico waves his empty bottle in Skipper's face. "**Bubbles!**"

"Nobody cares about your stupid bubbles Rico!" Skipper shouts back, "Just throw-up another one!"

"**Last one!**"

"Does anybody care that I'm trying to work here?!" yells Kowalski from amongst his things.

"Oh you always have to be the center of attention don't you?!" snaps Private at him.

"Private?!" says Kowalski, "That's a little unfair!"

"And so's putting a sock in it!"

"**Bubbles!**"

"ALRIGHT!" shouts Skipper. The room goes still. "Everyone topside!" Nobody moves. Skipper's face turns bright red. "_NOW!_" Everyone bolts for the ladder.

* * *

"It has come to my attention that we are in desperate need of shore leave." Skipper paces back and forth in front of the other penguins who don't take their eyes off the ground. "_Alone._ Away from each other."

"But Skipper-"

"No, Private no. Clearly, _some_ of us have been on the clock so long that they can't see where they're going!" At that moment, outside the habitat, a passing human trips and flings their cup into the air. The cup flies towards them and spills all over Skipper. It's coffee. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" goes Skipper and leaps into the pool. When he resurfaces the boys come over and peer down at him.

"Skipper, are you-"

"Just. Go."

* * *

Marlene tumbles down her slide, out of control. At the last second she corrects her course and lands perfectly in the water. "Ha!" she laughs, "I can't believe I've never tried that before." She perks her ears at a sigh coming from outside her habitat. Swimming over to the edge, she looks out. "Private? What's wrong?"

"We're on shore leave. Separate shore leave."

"Aw. Did you guys have a fight?"

"Yes."

"Um… do you wanna come in and play on my slide?"

"Okay."

* * *

"Perfect!" Kowalski surveys the zoovenier shop. "After closing but during zoo hours, nobody would be coming in here." He waddles over behind the counter and starts looking through boxes for supplies. Without warning, Rico pops up out of one of them holding a bottle of bubbles, causing Kowalski to jump. "Rico! What are you doing here?!"

"**What are ****_you_**** doing here?!**"

"This is my refuge! You find your own!"

"**_You_**** find your own!**"

"Stop repeating what I say!"

"**Make me!**"

* * *

Outside of the zoo, construction workers dig up a hole with a large front-shovel excavator. The whistle sounds for break. Everybody turns off their machines and leaves. The man manning the excavator departs last, putting down his coffee on the dashboard as he goes. When he's gone, the bag he also left slides off the console and shifts the engine into gear. He forgot to turn it off. The arm springs to life and veers slowly into the zoo.

Meanwhile, Private's trying Marlene's new style of sliding. "Whoo-hoo!" cries and splashes into the water. "I've never done it that way before!"

"I know right?! It's all like, 'Oh no I'm gonna crash,' but in the end it's like, "Nah, just kidding.' Come up with me, we'll go together!" They climb back to the top and jump, squealing with joy. At the end of the slide, instead of going straight in with Marlene, Private decides to do an extra high flip. It would have been impressive if just at that moment the shovel of the excavator hadn't slipped underneath and caught Private.

"Ah! Marlene help!"

"Private!"

* * *

Skipper floats blissfully in his cold, cold pool. What sounds like a scream suddenly disturbs him. Looking up, he sees Private in the clutches of a machine.

"Help!"

"I'm coming Private!" Skipper shoots out of the pool.

* * *

Kowalski pushes at Rico, trying to get back into the zoovenier shop. "Rico! -grunt- This is _my_ spot!"

"**Nuh-uh! Mine!**" Rico pushes back.

"Mine!"

"Help!" calls a voice from across the zoo. Kowalski turns towards it and Rico loses his grip, falling forward. In the distance a familiar blob of black waves nervously within the shovel of an excavator.

"Private's in trouble! Come on!" Kowalski pulls Rico up and drags him away. Rico barely has time to pick up his bottle to take with him.

* * *

All three penguins arrive at Marlene's habitat at the same time. "You guys gotta do something!" Marlene yells from her perch on top of her rock. But before they can do anything the arm swings back out of the zoo. The boys ninja bounce up and over the wall. Once on the ground Skipper turns to Kowalski.

"You and Rico get him out of there! I'm going after the machine." Skipper slides off. Kowalski turns to Rico and thinks.

"How to get up there? Wait!" Kowalski spots the bubbles Rico is holding. "The angle of trajectory and the force of the push at the rate that Private's moving with the wind going at- Yes! It could work!" Kowalski grasps either side of Rico's face, "Rico! I need you to drink this!" Rico shrugs and chugs the bottle. Kowalski positions himself and Rico carefully. "Now burp."

Rico grins. "**Got it.**" Private looks away as a disgusting belch echoes through the park. Peeking back, he sees to his amazement Kowalski's floating in the air inside of a bubble.

"Don't worry Private! I'm coming!"

Concurrently, Skipper has arrived at the cab of the excavator and now rubs his forehead in concentration. "Which one of these turns it off!" he exclaims at the dozens of levers and buttons. He jumps onto the dashboard to get a better look and spots the coffee. "Well, well, well. We meet again." Lifting the cup up, he pops off the lid and pours it all over the controls. They smoke and spark. Skipper hops out of the cab.

Above, Kowalski's closing in on Private. After Skipper destroys the controls the arm finally stops and allows Private to climb up to the edge. He jumps into Kowalski's arms straight through the bubble and the two descend. Rico regurgitates a needle and pops them out. Skipper joins them.

"Mission accomplished boys!" They exchange a series of high-fives and Rico burps, making another, smaller bubble. Private giggles and pops it. All four of them turn and make their way to the zoo, popping Rico's bubbles as they go.

The end.


End file.
